Racial Equity in Motion: The Momentum Fund and the Role of PSOs as Grantmaking Intermediaries

In May of 2020, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation issued a grant to the Forum to design a rapid-response grantmaking initiative in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The initiative, known as Momentum Fund, had two primary aims: (1) build the capacity of 501c3 organizations that were managing COVID-19 funds focused on historically marginalized people and communities most impacted by the pandemic and (2) mitigate the impacts of the pandemic among people of color (Black, Indigenous, LatinX, Asian, Pacific Islander and other communities of color throughout the United States, in U.S. territories and across Native American reservations.  
 
Though the Gates Foundation seldom worked with an intermediary to support its domestic grantmaking efforts, the Forum was an effective partner for this work because of the capacity of its network to meet the goals of centering racial equity in the process, distribute funds quickly, and reach a much broader range of organizations than the Gates Foundation usually serves.  
 
Join E. Bomani Johnson, Vice President, External Partnership at The Moriah Group and Momentum Fund Project Director, and Amanda Misiko Andere, Funders Together to End Homelessness in a discussion about the Momentum Fund and the role of PSOs as intermediaries for funds that explicitly prioritize BIPOC-led organizations reaching historically marginalized communities.